Bruce Devisser
Jul 01, 1996, 01:00 AM
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<title>How To Test Fly a Speed 400 Pylon Racer</title>
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<pre>1. Make a balance stand; use a piece of 1 x 4 or 1 x 6 pine 8 to 10 inches
long; drill a pair of half-inch deep holes to snugly fit a pair of new
(unsharpened) #2 pencils with erasers. Space the pencil holes about 3
inches apart in the middle of the board. Orientation doesn't much matter,
but our stands have the long dimension parallel to the wingspan.
2. Balance the plane with everything installed to be at or forward of the
CG point. Limit the range to not more than 1/4 inch forward and zero aft. I
Velcro? the ESC (w/BEC, such as LPSC mini) to the fuselage top ahead
of the wing - this leaves room for the battery pack to shift fore and aft.
Receiver goes all the way aft in the equipment compartment.
If you use a reasonable length of Velcro? type material to secure the
battery, you will be able to shift it enough to achieve balance. Be certain
the battery pack sticks well, or the CG will go immediately out of range
(aft) when you launch (experience speaks with great pain in it's voice)
3. Set your elevator control throw to 1/8 inch up and down, and your
ailerons to about 3/16 inch. (if you only have one aileron, use 1/4 inch
max) Make sure your controls are centering well, and that no binding is
present. The tiny servos in these models do not have the extra margin of
power you may be used to with larger models, so free control movement
is essential to centering.
Do not underestimate the importance of proper balance and
control system function - a little extra time at this point leads to
early success!
4. Be sure you have a fresh, full charge. Have a friend launch for you
with a slight run and flat toss over grass. (just in case)
5. Be prepared to feed in a little up elevator in case the model sinks at
launch. Be very careful to add up elevator gently, and only enough to
keep the model from hitting the ground if it sinks a lot.
6. Speed will build up quickly and the plane will want to climb, so be sure
to relax the elevator and concentrate on flying, keeping the model in
close. Now adjust your trims for straight and level, or better yet have
your launcher adjust them while you keep your hands on the sticks.
7. Once it is trimmed out, and you are at sufficient altitude, cut the throttle
to check power off behavior, which should be just loss of speed and
slightly nose down. Follow normal trimming procedures to correct
problems.
Speed 400 Pylon models are easy to fly and loads of fun. They tend to
be slightly sensitive to poor launch procedure, but it is only a matter of
practice to get the hang of it. My first Speed 400 Pylon model was
scratch built and it literally flew out of my hand the first time. I got
careless later and crashed it on launch 2 or 3 times, but it only caused
superficial damage.
Speed 400 sport models are much more forgiving, generally speaking,
but then they aren't designed to go fast and turn left!
B.C. DeVisser
</pre>
</body>
</html>
<head>
<title>How To Test Fly a Speed 400 Pylon Racer</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<pre>1. Make a balance stand; use a piece of 1 x 4 or 1 x 6 pine 8 to 10 inches
long; drill a pair of half-inch deep holes to snugly fit a pair of new
(unsharpened) #2 pencils with erasers. Space the pencil holes about 3
inches apart in the middle of the board. Orientation doesn't much matter,
but our stands have the long dimension parallel to the wingspan.
2. Balance the plane with everything installed to be at or forward of the
CG point. Limit the range to not more than 1/4 inch forward and zero aft. I
Velcro? the ESC (w/BEC, such as LPSC mini) to the fuselage top ahead
of the wing - this leaves room for the battery pack to shift fore and aft.
Receiver goes all the way aft in the equipment compartment.
If you use a reasonable length of Velcro? type material to secure the
battery, you will be able to shift it enough to achieve balance. Be certain
the battery pack sticks well, or the CG will go immediately out of range
(aft) when you launch (experience speaks with great pain in it's voice)
3. Set your elevator control throw to 1/8 inch up and down, and your
ailerons to about 3/16 inch. (if you only have one aileron, use 1/4 inch
max) Make sure your controls are centering well, and that no binding is
present. The tiny servos in these models do not have the extra margin of
power you may be used to with larger models, so free control movement
is essential to centering.
Do not underestimate the importance of proper balance and
control system function - a little extra time at this point leads to
early success!
4. Be sure you have a fresh, full charge. Have a friend launch for you
with a slight run and flat toss over grass. (just in case)
5. Be prepared to feed in a little up elevator in case the model sinks at
launch. Be very careful to add up elevator gently, and only enough to
keep the model from hitting the ground if it sinks a lot.
6. Speed will build up quickly and the plane will want to climb, so be sure
to relax the elevator and concentrate on flying, keeping the model in
close. Now adjust your trims for straight and level, or better yet have
your launcher adjust them while you keep your hands on the sticks.
7. Once it is trimmed out, and you are at sufficient altitude, cut the throttle
to check power off behavior, which should be just loss of speed and
slightly nose down. Follow normal trimming procedures to correct
problems.
Speed 400 Pylon models are easy to fly and loads of fun. They tend to
be slightly sensitive to poor launch procedure, but it is only a matter of
practice to get the hang of it. My first Speed 400 Pylon model was
scratch built and it literally flew out of my hand the first time. I got
careless later and crashed it on launch 2 or 3 times, but it only caused
superficial damage.
Speed 400 sport models are much more forgiving, generally speaking,
but then they aren't designed to go fast and turn left!
B.C. DeVisser
</pre>
</body>
</html>